Final Lines of Defense: Explaining Policy Advocacy by Immigrant-Serving Organizations

Daniel P. Hawes,Daniel E. Chand,Maria Apolonia Calderon

doi:10.1515/npf-2020-0023

Abstract

AbstractNonprofit scholars have developed a rich literature on nonprofit advocacy. While the literature is rich, however, gaps remain in our collective knowledge, especially regarding specific sectors of nonprofit human service organizations. Here, we apply existing theory on advocacy by human service organizations to an important subset of the nonprofit community, that being immigrant-serving organizations (ISOs). Most prior research on nonprofit advocacy has not focused on politically polarized issues, such as contemporary immigration policy. Using a nationwide survey of ISOs, we find that unlike other types of human service organizations, the majority of ISOsdoengage in at least some forms of policy advocacy. However, those that report using the H-election status on their Form 990s are significantly more likely to engage in advocacy and do so to a wide variety of policymakers, including legislators, chief executives, and even local law enforcement agencies. H-election groups are also more likely to perceive their advocacy activities as effective. These findings add to the evolving knowledge on when and how human service groups seek policy change for marginalized groups.

Highlights

Nonprofit scholars have developed a rich literature on nonprofit advocacy
Do immigrant-serving organizations (ISOs) engage in policy advocacy? If so, what type of advocacy activities do these specialized human service nonprofits perform? To whom do they advocate? And, most importantly, what characteristics predict whether ISOs engage in advocacy in the first place?
Few have examined groups directly advocating for the adoption or implementation of specific immigration policies. This prior research gives us at least a few clues as to what factors predict whether ISOs engage in policy advocacy

Summary

ISOs and Predicting Policy Advocacy

With the role of nonprofit organizations changing to face complicated social problems, gaps persist in our understanding of advocacy by service organizations. Some argue that human service nonprofits who are more established and possess higher professionalization, skills, monetary funds, and volunteer capacity engage in advocacy efforts at higher rates (Berry and Arons 2003; Child and Gronbjerg 2007; de Vita 2004; Guo and Saxton 2010; Leroux and Goerdel 2009). This may explain why groups that engage in advocacy are able to increase fundraising in fiscal years after their advocacy activities (Nicholson-Crotty 2011). We explain our method of surveying ISO policy advocacy

Surveying ISOs

Responses and Data

Predicting Policy Advocacy

Findings

Discussion and Conclusion